The creative writing, observations, experiences, and opinions, on life, and the world around him, by Kiril Kundurazieff; taking one step at a time on the Journey of Discovery, and Enlightenment, that every individual must take from the cradle to the grave.

June 2013

June 30, 2013

Last November I participated in a month long gratitude writing challenge and had a stimulating time doing so. Now, my friend who hosted that challenge has invited me to participate in another gratitude challenge, for July, hosted by a newly published author with a book coming out in July.

Carla Lindgren Coates proclaims her passion "is to inspire others to thrive and be the beautiful rose they are meant to be."

On Facebook she has invited her fans and friends to join her on a daily writing challenge:

"Every day will be a different theme (reason) to be grateful and we will post what we are grateful for around that theme.

It will only take a couple of minutes a day, and will also be
motivating, inspirational and FUN! At the end of the month I want to
hear from you on how one month of gratitude has affected you and post it
on my blog.

Beginning
on Monday, July 1, every morning, (or time that works best for you that
you can commit to) write down 10 things you are grateful for and why."

While some may just share their daily contribution on the Facebook page, and a journal or notepad, others, like me, will also share them on our blog.

Before the end of the month I will also have posted the 900th blog post on this blog since it began in October 2007.

Will I be able to create a series as powerful and creative as was the one last November? I aim to give it my best shot.

While today is Pee on Earth Day, and Peaches 'n' Cream Day, I will not whip out my Willie and pee anywhere but where I am supposed to, despite everything not exactly being all peaches and cream in the world.

For me, today, June 21, 2013, is the first day of the rest of my life.

A week after my Mid-April eye cancer surgery I chose to venture forth into unknown territory instead of staying at home. After taking part in a self-guided tour of 4 buildings in downtown Houston, seeing how the loft and penthouse crowd lives, and checking out the oldest continuously in use building in Houston, still in its original site (since before the civil war) I found myself sitting at a high-class bar in a fancy hotel restaurant, eating $5 mini-bites of breaded catfish, washed down by a Corpse Reviver #2, before a $35, 3-course meal lead off by a shrimp dish. In May I attended a pet blogging and social media conference, while also writing a daily 100 word story.

While it will be a year before I know if my cancer is in remission, and I continue follow-up check-ups and treatment in between, I am determined to move forward with my life.

I don’t want to just “settle” for the type of work I did in the past, though 17 years of retail would hold me in good stead. I believe I can do better and different, possibly related to my talent as a writer. I have a lot to learn on this journey and attending Blog Paws was just the beginning.

In the months I’ve been in Houston I’ve been thinking of ways to reach out and connect with the cycling community, the cat loving community, the writing and poetry communities, and even the journalism community here. There are a lot of cat related shelters, rescues and organizations but, as far as I can tell, no cat bloggers other than my friend in Spring, TX. There is a thriving poetry community here, with several open mic venues that I’d like to check out and perform in, just as I did in California.

With all the magazines in town and the newspaper, with its many community weeklies, I wonder if there are freelance and stringer opportunities for me to explore. I also have ten years of my material to mine for potential publishing opportunities.

Even as I consider all of this I still have to stabilize my living situation here by the end of September, at least. Dreams don’t pay the rent, or pay for Nikita’s medical and food bills…unless they come true.

June 15, 2013

What does poetry mean to you? Whether you have read any of my own works, or not, what particular path has brought you to this moment where you are reading this blog post? What poems and songs are waiting for you to write them? Who will you become, creatively, when you go deeper into the realm of reading and writing poetry and song?

"Poets are regular people who simply take the time to digest their regular, real-life experiences and transform them into poems"

"When it comes to writing poetry, the raw material of your life and imagination is more than enough."

I left the following comment: "Ever feel like your batteries were alkaline, and not the energizer bunny brand either? Seriously, I'm gonna ride my bike to church this morning. I haven't been to church since before my surgery, in April."

As I prepared to go, inspiration struck.

There is nothing like a long, leisurely, bike ride, for re-charging one's batteries, even huntin' down creative ideas and inspiration out of the blue, as you train your mind on something you have been working on, or something new.

Whether 10 miles, or 4,141, the journey has the potential to inspire the writer in ways he, or she, might never imagine, while refreshing a body and spirit that possibly has recently been through a lot.

Over the years I have taken bike rides of 45, 48, 66 (twice), and 81.60 miles (over 2 days) that, camera in tow, inspired me to creatively share those adventures. My rides helped me come up with ideas for new stories and poems, and even think through daily life challenges.

June 08, 2013

"Summer Slide is described as having something to do with how kids from low-income families lose the most ground, educationally, during the summer months when they are not in class, losing access to books and to the opportunity to continue their studies, or just to read for enjoyment and improvement of their levels of language comprehension, reading comprehension and literacy. And when repeated summer after summer....it can all add up to negative effect.

During the last week of May the Houston Chronicle had an editorial on efforts in the city by a new Houston-based volunteer group, Books Between Kids, that is helping large numbers of kids to build home libraries.

To quote the editorial:

"In the coming weeks, at book fairs across town, students will choose the books they want to take home - books that interest them, books they'll read, books that are astoundingly good for them. And this year, Barnes and Alhorn hope, is only the beginning. As great as the response to their call has been, the need is far greater. Roughly 80 percent of HISD students are low-income.

"In many households, books are luxury items," Barnes recently told the Chronicle. "Food and shelter have to come first. How can we not do something about that?"

One comment made several points in a response:

The person suggested that parenting needed to be tried...Toss the xbox, hide the TV cord, make the kid get a summer job (I, myself, was mowing lawns and running errands for neighbors by age 12, and a community volunteer by age 14, all year long) and read a book a week. Learning all sorts of new skills may make the kid tired, but he or she will learn the value of an education.

I was inspired to write an essay, in response, and submit it in hopes of it being published. As of this writing it has not (It's possible I sent it to the wrong email address, as I have since learned they have one for letters and one for essays.) so I am sharing it here.

June 02, 2013

Summer has begun and, in Houston, as along the Atlantic coast, that means it is Hurricane Season from now through the last day of November. Being from southern California I know Santa Ana winds, fire season, fog so thick you can cut it with a knife, and earthquakes; I even thought I knew thunder and lightning storms, and summer heat…until I moved here.

A few weeks ago we had an all-night thunderstorm that left 4 to 8 in. of rain, and the sound and light show was continuous and unlike anything I’d ever experienced. More recently I experienced the same, during a 4 hour morning deluge after leaving a doctor’s appointment (Near darkness at 10am was only part of the experience).

It has only been 5 years since Hurricane Ike paid a visit to this area and, Houston holds an annual Houston/Galveston National Weather Service Hurricane Workshop for preparing residents for hurricane season through presentations, interactive exhibits, hurricane forecasting and more. This has become an even more important event because, in recent years, the number ofnewcomers to the region has grown, and we all should be edumicated so we don’t freak out.

The event was held yesterday, at the George Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston and I want to share my thoughts on attending. It was only 5 hours, and while there were a few presentations at the main stage I decided the best thing for me was to gather information for further reading and future planning.

Visitors

Attention correspondents: E-mail sent to the blog e-mail addy, including those regarding postings/comments, and/or in response to correspondence with/from the author of this blog, are not considered confidential and may be shared online as I deem appropriate.

PERMISSIONS: Original Content of this blog is Copyrighted, and owned, by Kiril G. Kundurazieff, Jan. 2010 - Present...
The Author, Owner, has no problem with people excerpting a reasonable part of one of our entries in a post of their own, as long as attribution to him is made, and a link to his original post is included.